The Beautiful Poisonous Flower

The thin, soft lump of white cotton continued to slowly descend, then stuck to the asphalt, grass, soil, and roofs of buildings and turned the city of Moscow all white. The cathedral city seemed to be shrouded in the ihram robes of the saints. In an all-white atmosphere, Moscow seems to show off its magical beauty in winter.

White streets. Cathedrals and castle-shaped buildings covered in snow. The shoots of araukaria spruce are encrusted with and white grains. The gardens are transformed into a stretch of the all-white rug. The frozen fountain creates the beauty of crystal carvings. And, the beautiful charm of young Russian nick-knacks in a tight classy thick pink palto. All blend into the magic of the city of Moscow in winter. The winter magic of the city of Moscow is the magic of heavenly dreams off fairy tale lands.

The sun showed no sign of its rays. Bereozka trees on either side of the road occasionally sway in the wind. The bereozka trees seem so resigned to God's destiny, all the world cry. He froze silently in the eerie cold. The leaves had fallen off one by one since winter had started wearing his white robes. Cold winds continued to blow slowly from the north pole, adding to the air temperature getting colder and freezing everything.

Snow flew and drifted down slowly. The small pine trees on the edge of Sheremetyevo airport shivered with cold. The temperature is minus fourteen degrees Celsius. People covered her body with thick clothes tightly. Houses and buildings shut their doors and windows tightly. There shouldn't be the slightest bit of cold wind coming in. Because, letting the cold wind freely enter houses and buildings, can sometimes invite the evil smell of death. The heating devices are turned on all day and night, to warm the body.

The snow that fell slowly and the chill that bit the bones did not hinder the flow of people passing by at Sheremetyevo airport. Three taxis came to drop off passengers. Hurriedly after paying the fare and unloading their luggage, the passengers entered the airport.

Two "marshrutka" shuttle buses were seen picking up passengers who had just left the airport. Chartered drivers scramble for passengers. A middle-aged man, with a, slightly hunched back a typical Russian face, with a sharp nose slightly bent to the left, looked at the people leaving the airport with a cold face. His right hand fiddled with the car keys, while in his left he tucked into a thick and dull palto (a very thick winter coat).

The man with the crooked nose to the left continued to play with his car keys. He moved his legs to ward off the cold. Suddenly his legs stopped. His mouth curved into a smile. His eyes sparkled at the two foreign-faced young people, the faces of Southeast Asia. He knew very well the faces of the nations coming out of Sheremetyevo airport.

"Syad, you made me giddy. We haven't seen each other for nine years. You are now much more manly and handsome than Ersyad in middle school," said the bespectacled youth with a small chuckle.

"Ah, really, Vin?" said Ershad a little disbelievingly.

"Really. You used to be the smallest and most skinny in the class. Now you're tall and quite manly. Didn't expect it. Is it because you used to eat camel meat when you were studying in Egypt there?"

"Ah, Devin... Devin, how come you don't change the way you talk, fresh and still joking? You yourself are getting fatter and whiter. Is it because you like to eat White Bear meat while studying here?"

"The bear, your mother!"

"Alright, Dev. Hurry up, don't joke around. I'll freeze to death if I stay here a little longer." Ershad shivered in his dark blue jacket. Warm steam escaped his mouth as he spoke. He tightened the lock on his arms across his chest.

"We can take the bus, metro, or marshrutka. But we'll just take a chartered taxi, okay? So we don't bother lifting things," replied Devin, who seemed calmer and more experienced, adjusting his glasses. He wore a black palto and perfect winter gear like an average Russian.

"It's okay. The important thing is to get to the apartment quickly."

The crooked-nosed man to the left approached. With a cold face, he greeted the two young men in Russian. "Dabro dentl Vi otkuda?" (Good afternoon! Where are you guys from?)

Devin shook his head and made a confused face.

"Dev, don't play games. Answer me, don't you speak Russian? It's cold!" Irsyad protested annoyed at Devin's behavior.

"Calm down, Syad. I'm going to pretend I don't speak Russian. Just so you know how this old Russian treats us. He must think we're both really soft food. the true nature of the people."

"Okay, but hurry up, I'm about to freeze!"

"Kholodno?" say hello to the Russian guy again.(Cold)

"What? What is kholodno?" Devin replied pretending not to know.

"Kholodno, kholodno," said the Russian man, clutching his chest and shivering. He then pointed at the young man in the dark blue jacket and acted shivering.

Then, he offered to take his taxi. Then, there was a dialogue in sign language between the Russian man with a pointed nose to the left and the young man with glasses. The bespectacled youth took a pen and a piece of paper from his palto pocket. He wrote down the address of his apartment and handed it to the man. Even though it was written in Latin and not in Russian Cyrillic, the man could read.

"Mmm, Panfilovsky, Smolenskaya," muttered the Russian as he took a pen from his palto pocket. He wrote the number two hundred dollars on the slip of paper and showed the young man with glasses. Seeing the numbers written, the young man shook his head in disapproval.

"This crazy Russian, Syad! He really believes we can be fooled and slaughtered easily. One way from Sheremetyevo to Smolenskaya two hundred dollars. And if you take the bus at least 25 rubles. It's too much difference."

"Yes, Dev, we can take the bus, which is cheap."

"No, Syad. If you don't take the bus to the apartment, you'll freeze first. The bus stops everywhere, many times. We can even be on the road for two hours. Especially if there's a traffic jam."

"So what? It's getting cold, Dev." Ershad's face couldn't take it anymore. his cheeks were already numb and almost made him freeze to death.

"I bargain a lot, yes. If he doesn't want us to find another taxi." Devin asked for approval making Ersyad nod his head several times.

Devin wrote down the number forty dollars and he showed it to the crooked-nosed man to the left. However, the man shook his head. He then wrote the number eighty. The rather fat young man with glasses shook his head as he walked away towards the crowd of other taxi drivers. Immediately the Russian man grabbed his shoulder and scribbled the number fifty dollars. Devin shook his head again and waved the crooked-nosed Russian's hand to the left. His hand grabbed the luggage bag and dragged it with determined steps. Ershad rushed to follow. After only five steps, the crooked-nosed Russian to the left caught up and grabbed his shoulder again. In a slightly hoarse voice he said, "Okay!"

The middle-aged Russian man with a cold face without a smile gestured with his right hand for Devin and Ershad to follow him. The man with the crooked nose to the left was walking while fiddling with his car keys. He completely ignored Devin and Ershad who were dragging their suitcases and belongings. The Russian man opened his car. Suddenly Ershad was stunned for a moment. A very dull crimson car.

"Dev, the car is such a wreck!" Irsyad protested while pointing at the car in front of him.

"Let's just take a ride. If you don't take a taxi like this you don't really know Moscow!" David replied firmly.

"What if the engine crashes on the road?" Again and again Ershad doubted his safety. He was afraid instead of arriving at an apartment, he was even going to the hospital. Thinking about things like this made Ershad shake his head strongly. Hope that nightmare will never happen.

"Yes, just pray that I don't," concluded Devin briefly.

The crooked-nosed driver to the left opened the trunk and motioned for Devin and Irsyad to put their suitcase and belongings into the trunk. He himself just watched, no preamble helping to load the suitcase. After all the goods were in, he slammed the trunk lid hard. He walked in and started the engine. Tried several times it didn't turn on, the fourth time it turned on.

The crimson dull car let out a mournful roar. Devin rushes in. Ershad hesitated a bit, but Devin grabbed his arm to rush in. They sat in the back seat. The dark red car made in Japan was moving away from Sheremetyevo airport. Light snow still fell, infrequently. The old driver steered his crimson car past Leningradskoye Shosse. Entering the MKAD toll road bridge, 2x2x1 Moskovsky Koltso Automomobilny Daroga, the snow was no longer falling. But everywhere white scenery lay.

"Dablo Pozhalovath v Moscow!" exclaimed the middle-aged Russian driver half muttering with a cold face looking ahead.

"What did he say?" Ersyad asked Devin curiously.

"You said you can speak Russian already."

"Just a little bit. And then this old Russian is talking like he's muttering, so it's not clear."

"Yeah he just said welcome to Russia."

The crimson dull car continued to drive. The speed can't be more than sixty kilometers per hour. Ershad tightened the lock on his arms across his chest. The old car was not equipped with hot or cold air conditioning. On the right and left of the road, there are occasional bereozka trees. Modern architectural buildings.

Also factory buildings. The middle-aged driver was silent. His expression was cold. Only the head that seems to occasionally shake to the left and right seems to accompany the sound of an old car which occasionally roars and coughs. Surprisingly the car still runs steadily.

Entering the wider Leningradsky Prospect, the middle-aged driver tried to increase the speed of his car. But the speed can't increase anymore.

"You old car!" cursed the crooked nosed driver to the left.

"So, after graduating from junior high school, you went to a boarding school, didn't you, Syad?" asked Devin. He completely ignored the Russian driver's cursing. For him it is normal and need not be foreign. Because the driver must be asking for extra money on behalf of his old car.

"Yes. To Pasuruan. In Aliyah's third grade, I moved to the Kajoran Magelang Islamic Boarding School which was under the care of Kiai Lukman Hakim."

"So, as soon as you graduate from boarding school you go straight to Cairo?"

"Not."

"You said he studied in Egypt."

"Yes, after graduating from the Islamic boarding school, I studied at IAIN Jakarta, while submitting files to Egypt. Just try it. It turned out that I was accepted. So yes, I was in Jakarta for one year."

"So, is it easy to study in Egypt?"

"Not really."

"Then how did you get to study in Egypt? I had absolutely no idea, you little bandit in middle school could study in Egypt!"

"Ah yes, I used to be called a little bandit in middle school by Mrs. Dias, our PKN teacher. Because when Mrs. Dias wrote about PKN on the blackboard I snapped her back with a rubber band. She was really angry and called me a little bandit, " said Irsyad reminiscing about the times when he was naughty.

"I can't understand it, how could I be so impudent before, huh?" continued Irsyad, shaking his head slowly.

"At that time I was also surprised, you know, Syad. I was the only one who felt naughty than you did not snap the teacher. You, small, skinny, how did you suddenly do crazy things like that. I was wondering, what kind of demon possessed you at that time?"

"You still remember that incident, Dev?"

"Oh, that's a memory that I probably won't forget for the rest of my life, Syad. Your behavior was too much. Mrs. Dias was furious. Then, she tugged at your ears until they turned red. After that, she didn't want to teach for a month. And you were punished not to go to school two week. You then apologized to Mrs. Dias with a pretended to be pitiful. And Mrs. Dias would forgive as long as you stood in front of the class while Mrs. Dias taught in one semester."

"And I obeyed Mrs. Dias's requirements. The photo shoot happened at the beginning of the semester. So, for almost a semester during PKN lessons I stood like a statue in front of the class on one leg. Until some of our female friends called me 'the little one-legged bandit'."

"What I was surprised at that time was that you looked so calm while undergoing the punishment. You also didn't run home during the last lesson. You were so loyal to wait for Mrs. Dias to enter class, then you without being asked to go directly to the front of the class and stand on your feet. one, then silent as a statue until the class disbanded. What the hell made you do that crazy prank."

"Yes, that's right, Dev. It was a prank. I was very ignorant at that time. Do you know why I snapped Mrs. Dias' back?"

"Why?"

"At that time, I considered Mrs. Dias the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. My weakness since I saw a beautiful face, I was very fragile when faced with a beautiful face. I don't know what demon possessed me at that time, I really wanted to see Mrs. Dias angry. I want to know if she was really angry or still beautiful. Finally, without thinking much I snapped Mrs. Dias's back with a rubber band as hard as I could. She must be in pain, because I was sitting on the front seat. She was furious. Because of that, I no longer saw Mrs. Dias as the most beautiful woman. And I was patient to accept the punishment, because I realized that I had to take responsibility for my mistakes. And I had to get an apology from Mrs. Dias, because at that time we were in third grade. I was afraid I couldn't take the final exam."

"Well, then you shouldn't be in Moscow, Syad?"

"So what?"

"Russian curios are famous for being beautiful. You'll prove it later. Are you still vulnerable to seeing beautiful women?"

"Who knows."

"Wow, this is dangerous! Don't blame me if you later become a bandit in Moscow, no longer just a small bandit. But a real bandit. What you will face later is the temptation of the Moscow woman, Syad. The temptation of women in Java cannot be compared with the enormity of the temptation women here," said Devin enthusiastically.

"I'm not here for fun, let alone looking for women, Dev."

"It's not like that. It doesn't matter what your goals are. Whether you want to study, do research, or whatever, the temptation of Russian women will continue to stalk you. Even in your dreams. If you don't believe it, then prove it!"

Ershad sighed. He felt that what his friend said was true. His friends from Russia while studying in Egypt had said the same thing several times. Some of them have shown their family photos. The women are rarely unpretentious. He closed his eyes and prayed, " Audzubillahi min fitnatin nisaa " (I seek refuge in Allah from the slander of women).